Search results
Full Play Analysis. Twelfth Night is a play about desire’s power to override conventions of class, religion, and even gender. Several characters begin the play believing they want one thing, only to have love teach them they actually want something else. Orsino thinks he wants Olivia, until he falls in love with Viola (dressed as Cesario.)
- Key Facts
Full title Twelfth Night, or What You Will . Author William...
- Full Play Summary
A short summary of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. This...
- Act V: Scene I
A summary of Act V: Scene i in William Shakespeare's Twelfth...
- Character List
Read an in-depth analysis of Antonio. A list of all the...
- Key Facts
- Viola (Cesario) The protagonist of Twelfth Night. An aristocratic woman, she is tossed up on the coast of Illyria by a shipwreck at the beginning of the play and disguises herself as the pageboy, Cesario… read analysis of Viola (Cesario)
- Orsino. The Duke and ruler of Illyria. At the beginning of the play Orsino is obsessed by his unrequited love for Olivia . However, in the final scene, when Orsino discovers that Cesario is in fact… read analysis of Orsino.
- Olivia. A beautiful noblewoman in Illyria. At the beginning of the play, she has rejected both Orsino and her ridiculous suitor, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In mourning for her recently deceased brother, she has vowed not… read analysis of Olivia.
- Sebastian. Viola's twin brother, whom she believes is lost at sea, and who likewise thinks she's dead. Sebastian is noble and capable of strong, deeply felt emotion, just like his sister.
♦ Other Characters (Analysis) 11. 12. Twelfth Night: Principal Topics Twelfth Night: Essays ♦ Worm i'the bud: The Games of Love in Twelfth Night ♦ Feste and Fabian: Plots and Complots ♦ Present Me As An Eunuch: Female Identity in Twelfth Night ♦ Chaos and Order in Twelfth Night ♦ The Image and Metaphor of "Drowning" in Twelfth Night 13.
- 762KB
- 174
Twelfth Night is sometimes called a "transvestite comedy" for the obvious reason that its central character is a young woman, Viola, who disguises herself as a pageboy, Cesario. In Shakespeare's time, Viola's part, like all the parts in Twelfth Night, would have been played by a man, because women were not allowed to act.
Twelfth Night. When Shakespeare composed Twelfth Night; or What You Will between 1600 and 1601, he used many of the characteristics common to Elizabethan romantic comedies—mistaken identity, separated twins, gender-crossing, and disguise. While the plot utilizes common tropes to tell a story about overcoming the obstacles to "true" love ...
Overview. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, written around 1601, is an entertaining comedy that navigates the themes of love, mistaken identity, and the topsy-turvy nature of human relationships. Set in the fictional kingdom of Illyria, the play follows the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck.
People also ask
What is Twelfth Night about?
Is Twelfth Night a true story?
How does Twelfth Night relate to Shakespeare?
Does viola drive the plot of Twelfth Night?
